


The Seas We Sail

by sve_aph



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe- Mermaid, Alternate Universe- Pirate, Multi, this is gonna be a wild ride lemme tell you right now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:06:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9610751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sve_aph/pseuds/sve_aph
Summary: pirates and merfolk and magic, oh my!everybody is on a ship unless they live in the ocean and everybody is related unless they're flirting and even then who knowsis this comedy? adventure? drama? slice of life? yeswho wants to watch me write a fic I've had planned for years it's gonna be great





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> anyways I've been preparing to write this for ages and I have thousands of words of plotline, character background, and universe information already written and I'm finally bored/calm enough to actually write it!
> 
> there's gonna be a couple of ships mentioned here and there but none of them are the "main" ship. they'll each have their sweet moments though, so don't feel cheated.
> 
> if you want a full character list or universe chart or any extra info let me know and I'll probably post it on tumblr and link it to here. this is gonna be a lot.
> 
> anyways, welcome to the show I hope you stay till the end <3

It was hard to separate the mixed emotions swirling through the pod. Fear and rage and overwhelming pain were practically palpable and Berwald struggled to force the rage to take over. They were on a warpath and he couldn’t allow any of his concerns to get in the way. Mathias’ red tail flashed in the peripherals of his vision and he knew his family was around him, just as focused as he was. They would stop at nothing to get Tino back.

The ocean around them was becoming less blue and more brown and it was obvious that they were far closer to the shoreline than their kind had dared to go in years, but they didn’t hesitate. Berwald wondered at the twinge in his stomach—a poisonous feeling creeping through his bones, distinctly different than the ache that came with being separated from Tino—but he ignored it. Discomfort could be dealt with later.

Emil released a small cry but Lukas didn’t twitch, so Berwald disregarded it. He could see that wicked white boat, the sight of it burned into his brain. Mathias slowed down and the others automatically followed his lead. Berwald turned away, struggling not to let his anguish show, though the act was useless with his every emotion coursing through the back of the pod’s mind.

“Berwald, what do we do?” Mathias was strangely calm as his brothers agitatedly swam in circles.

“We capsize the boat.”

“That’s it? That’s your plan?”

“He has to surrender eventually.” Berwald insisted.

“You’re an idiot. Can’t you feel it?” Lukas hissed, whipping his tail around. “Whoever is in charge of that ship isn’t just an overambitious human. He’s powerful. He’s stealing our strength as we speak.”

Berwald noticed the way Lukas held onto Emil’s arm, even as the younger merman thrashed restlessly, and he felt a wave of shame at the way he had failed to pay attention to his pod. He knew that the poison in his bones wasn’t a good sign and Emil wasn’t nearly as strong as his older podmates. He had to be in a fair amount of pain.

“Okay. What do we do?” Berwald asked, relenting.

“We need to concentrate attack on wherever Tino is. I’m sure you’ll be able to find him. Once we get Tino free, we leave. You can extract your revenge some other time.”

“The poacher needs to pay.” Berwald growled. Lukas nodded, his normally blank eyes betraying his own anger.

“He will. But not today.”

Berwald sighed and focused inward, following the taut thread that attached him to his soulmate. He began to swim, and his pod followed. 


	2. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time skip about fifty years or so. Welcome aboard the Lingean with your host Captain Kirkland his motley European crew!

“Retreat!!” Captain Kirkland’s hoarse voice cut through the chaos and  _ the Lingean _ ’s crew hesitated for only a moment before hastily turning tail and leaping back to their ship. The canons continued to fire as Leon spun the wheel away from the white oak ship, even as Alistair and Ludwig scrambled on board. The deck shook with explosions and the normally collected captain found himself panting as he ran up the ladder to the sterncastle deck. He pushed Leon away from the wheel with a growl, not bothering to verbally express his frustrations at the young sailing master’s blunder. “Go help Peter with the canons, you fool,” he ordered, face stern. Leon scampered away without a word.

Francis emerged from his station below deck to oversee the youngest members of the crew as they searched the returning sailors for injuries. The air was thick with dust and gunpowder, forcing the chef to cover his mouth and nose with a rag as he circled the deck doing a quick headcount. Seeing past various wounds and slick puddles of blood on the wood, he realized that a certain waist high sailor was missing.

“Vash! Ludwig!” Francis hissed, trying not to attract the captain’s attention. “Where the hell is Peter?” Ludwig’s head snapped up and he visibly counted the crew, much the way Francis had only moments prior.

“He’s not here?”

“I don’t see him. He didn’t go with you onto  _ the Zima _ , did he?” Francis hated to ask the question, but it had to be done.

“Surely not! The boy is rash, but he knows how furious Arthur will be,” Vash insisted, subconsciously hefting his musket.

“If he’s not on the ship, there’s nowhere else he can be,” Ludwig said with a sigh. “Would you like me to tell Arthur, or do you want to do it yourself?”

Francis paused. “I’ll tell him myself. I don’t want him taking his anger out on the crew.” Ludwig and Vash nodded and left to attend to the other sailors.

Alfred and Matthew were frantic, trying to convince their crewmates to sit still long enough to be treated. The twins were busier than they’d ever been before— _ the Lingean _ had never retreated before. Connor, Bruce, and Alistair had all taken serious hits. Matthew assumed Gilbert had gotten some sort of injury as well, but he disappeared before they could manage to treat him.

“Mattie, Mattie! We need more bandages!” Alfred’s high-pitched voice cut through Matthew’s musing, and he flinched.

“I don’t think we have any more. We haven’t restocked in months.”

“Alright, one of you is gonna die,” Alfred announced, turning to their three patients.

“Al! Shut up! You can’t say that!” Mattie protested immediately.

“Too late. Also, it’s true. You know one of them is bound to bleed out without proper bandaging. 

“Don’t be daft, Mattie, we know what it means when there’s blood and no bandage.” Alistair growled, gripping his shoulder. “Give the remaining bandages to Bruce and Connor.”

“And how do you intend to stay alive?” Matthew asked skeptically.

“Willpower.” When there was no response, he continued. “And to spite my brother, of course.” With a scoff, Matthew moved away to tend to the other sailors, lacking the nerve to further argue with the older boatswain.

Alfred watched as Francis slowly climbed the ladder up to the navigation poop deck and he nudged his twin. The two brothers watched as the spectacle unfolded before their eyes.

“He’s WHAT?” Alfred and Matthew twitched at the roar that exploded from their captain and father. “That’s impossible!” Francis was keeping a good couple feet from the captain, trying not to flinch under the scrutiny. The captain said something inaudible, but his rage was obvious.

Captain Kirkland ran down the ladder and began stampeding through his crew. Francis took the wheel and made eye contact with Matthew, silently asking him to retrieve Leon from below deck. Mattie sighed as he adjusted to the dim light of the orlop deck and realized that there was only one other sailor there.

“Peter’s gone, isn’t he?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you have any questions. Everything makes sense to me, but I've been researching this material for over a year now and my sister is a horrible beta reader, so sometimes things slip through the cracks. Much love!

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought or hmu on tumblr @sve-aph I'm shy but I'm just tryna have a good time okay ily!


End file.
